Stripper Energy (video)https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/stripper-energyJoin me under the neon glow of the historic Les Girls Theater for “Stripper Energy: Fighting Back from the Fringes.” Former dancer and current owner of Les Girls Theater, Kata Pierce-Morgan, provides unlimited access to a half century of archival material that uncovers a dark chapter of San Diego history from the 1970s and 80s. Kata has been turning chapters from her life and the history of Les Girls into politically charged performance art for San Diego International Fringe Festival. Her consistent theme has been, never be a silent bystander. This year she premieres “No Regrets,” a music and burlesque show set in the late 1960s when vice raided the Left Bank Nightclub, which was the precursor to Les Girls Theater. Prepare for sassy strippers, corrupt cops, and a fierce activism launched from the unlikely stage of a strip club. Explicit content. Links: San Diego International Fringe https://sdfringe.org/ No Regrets https://sdfringe.org/events/golden-corpse-presents-no-regrets/ Les Girls Theater https://www.lesgirlstheater.com/en-usStreamGuys RecastKPBS Public MediaKPBSFighting Back From the FringesJoin me under the neon glow of the historic Les Girls Theater for “Stripper Energy: Fighting Back from the Fringes.” Prepare for sassy strippers, corrupt cops, and a fierce activism launched from the unlikely stage of a strip club.falseepisodicKPBS Mediapodcasts@kpbs.orghttps://kpbs-rss.streamguys1.com/kpbs_podcasts/stripper_energy/20250529144324-StripperEnergy-NPR-3000x3000.jpgStripper Energy (video)https://www.kpbs.org/podcasts/stripper-energyFringe Women or How Art Can HealAfter decades of fighting abuse from San Diego’s vice squad and finally securing dancers’ rights, Kata Pierce-Morgan turned her “stripper energy” to a new creative outlet – producing shows for San Diego International Fringe Festival that tap into Les Girls history. Plus sex worker-activists turn to Fringe Festivals to use art to advocate for sex worker rights and to challenge stereotypes. In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater Kate McGrew/Lady Grew, singer, activist, sex worker, Fringe artist Rachel Atlas, Fringe artist, activist, sex worker Kit Marsh, Fringe artist, sex worker Cherida Fraser, Fringe artist Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host/Video editor Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Roland Lizarondo, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor More information at kpbs.org/stripperenergy #strippers #adultentertainment #lesgirlstheater #sandiegohistory #vice #policeabuse #fighting back #sexworkers #fringefestivals #sandiegointernationalfringe #newzealandfringe #ireland #newzealand Explicit content.7f5ebbb0-38c2-11ef-9fbf-ef11fa34a77afullyes00:21:21Wed, 03 Jul 2024 09:00:00 -0700Chapter 5: Fighting Back Or The Rise of Stripper EnergyAfter more than a decade of sexual harassment, coerced encounters, and psychological abuse by San Diego vice, Kata Pierce-Morgan and her fellow Les Girls dancers were ready to tap into their stripper energy and fight back. If polite society and the legal system were not going to help them end the abuse, then they would take matters into their own hands. If no one was willing to believe a bunch of strippers, then Kata would install video cameras to prove their claims. If the rat pack cops thought they could terrorize them into silence, then they would find their voice and speak up. And if internal affairs refused to take their complaints seriously, then Kata would simply have to come up with a new game plan. Prepare for Chapter 5, Fighting Back, or the Rise of Stripper Energy. In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, also involved with WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild. J.W. August, journalist Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater Mel, current manager of Les Girls Theater Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor More information at kpbs.org/stripperenergy #strippers #adultentertainment #lesgirlstheater #sandiegohistory #1980s #vice #policeabuse #fighting back Explicit content.cb529060-33fc-11ef-a3f3-b9e59e3f825dAfter more than a decade of sexual harassment, coerced encounters, and psychological abuse by San Diego vice police, Kata Pierce-Morgan and her fellow Les Girls dancers realized that fighting back through proper channels wasn't working.

Neither polite society nor the legal system were helping the dancers end the abuse, so they took matters into their own hands.

If no one was willing to believe a bunch of strippers, then Kata would install video cameras to prove their claims. If the rat pack cops thought they could terrorize dancers into silence, then they would find their voice and speak up. And if police internal affairs refused to take their complaints seriously, then Kata would have to do her own undercover work.

Prepare for "Chapter 5: Fighting Back, or the Rise of Stripper Energy."

20240518_Stripper Energy_Kata show-56.jpg (6048x4024, AR: 1.502982107355865)<br>&copy; Kori Suzuki 2024In this chapter:

Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater

John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s

Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, also involved with WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild.

J.W. August, current KPBS freelance journalist

Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater

Mel, current manager of Les Girls Theater

20240518_Stripper Energy_Kata show-58.jpg (6048x4024, AR: 1.502982107355865)<br>&copy; Kori Suzuki 2024

Credits:

Beth Accomando, Producer/Host/Video Editor

Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer

Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer

Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator

Sanns Dixon, Videographer

Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants

David Washburn, Editor

]]>full00:25:56Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:00:00 -0700Chapter 4: Vice Grip or the Rise of the Rat PackHow dare a stripper, a fringe woman, not stay silent and compliant as vice officers sexually harassed her ... and worse. And how dare Kata Pierce-Morgan challenge stereotypes and fight back? But Les Girls Theater had a history of fighting back starting with its owner James Morgan who spoke up against police abuse to a county Grand Jury in the hopes that the California Attorney General would crack down on the San Diego Police Department's Rat Pack. Kata was a midwestern Catholic girl who believed, like her late husband Jim, in not being a silent bystander. Even if you were a dancer at Les Girls. After all, Jim had won a groundbreaking victory over censorship in the late 1960s. But as the 60s became the 70s, Kata and her fellow dancers faced an onslaught of police raids, nude interrogations and coerced encounters. In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, also involved with WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild. J.W. August, journalist Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater Mel, current manager of Les Girls Theater Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor More information at kpbs.org/stripperenergy #strippers #adultentertainment #lesgirlstheater #sandiegohistory #1980s #vice #policeabuse Explicit content.4593a7b0-2f2e-11ef-b6c7-6915008ce840The history of Les Girls Theater continues with the police harassment of dancers that started in the 1970s continuing into the 1980s. It begins to extend outside of the venue of Les Girls Theater and into public places, and even into dancer's homes.

Decades ago, Kata Pierce-Morgan, a former dancer and the current owner of Les Girls, was labeled an "N.H.I." (No Humans Involved) and "fringe woman" by the police. She and her fellow dancers faced an onslaught of police raids, nude interrogations and coerced encounters.

But despite such harassment and intimidation, Kata did not stay silent and compliant. She and her late husband, James Morgan, fought back — specifically by speaking up against police abuse to a county grand jury.

But while the 1970 grand jury report called out San Diego Police Department vice officers, nothing really happened. Meanwhile the vice squad's so-called "rat pack," took their harassment to new levels.

Candy censored.jpg (3190x2317, AR: 1.3767803193785066)

In this chapter:

Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater

John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s

Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, also involved with WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild.

J.W. August, KPBS freelance journalist

Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater

Mel, current manager of Les Girls Theater

Credits:

Beth Accomando, Producer/Host

Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer

Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer

Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator

Sanns Dixon, Videographer

Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants

David Washburn, Editor

Explicit content.

]]>full00:20:24Thu, 20 Jun 2024 18:00:00 -0700Chapter 3: Climate of Fear, or What Happens When You Poke the BearLes Girls Theater scored a victory in the censorship battle but that only intensified an escalating war with the police who found new ways to harass the Les Girls dancers. They routinely endured a climate of fear as vice cops would arrest them but not file charges. In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s Sid Kassouf, former employee at Show Place James Morgan, original owner of Les Girls Theater, late husband of Kata John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence J.W. August, journalist Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor Explicit content.02c21e60-2848-11ef-85e2-a9d3b792c33fKata Pierce-Morgan’s archives take us down a dark path for "Stripper Energy Chapter 3: Climate of Fear or What Happens When You Poke the Bear?"

20240518_Stripper Energy_Kata show-79.jpg (5984x3995, AR: 1.4978723404255319)<br>&copy; Kori Suzuki 2024

The history of Les Girls Theater, which Kata now owns, is a tangled web that plays out like a film noir. The adult entertainment industry operates on the fringes of society and under the weight of a whole set of negative stereotypes.

But Kata and her late husband James Morgan fought back against efforts by police, polite society and city power brokers to deny dancers their freedom and make them feel less than human. Jim and Kata celebrated nudity and advertised it in hot pink neon to poke the bear at every turn … which, of course, had consequences.

Kata is now the archivist for both Jim and Les Girls Theater. As she lays out the history, you can start connecting the dots that take Jim from a young sailor to the flamboyant owner of a small adult entertainment empire.

It was clear from the start that the Baptist from Texas wasn’t afraid of a fight. As a small land developer in the late 1950s, Jim was told paying bribes were part of the cost of doing business in San Diego.

He not only refused to pay the bribes, but ran for mayor in 1959 on an anticorruption platform. He lost that race but opened a new business and soon had a run in with the Port Authority over party boats. Then opened a nightclub that got raided … his years of poking the bear came to a climax in 1969 when he took on the city’s censorship laws by staging the all-nude “Let it All Hang Out” show at his Les Girls strip club.

Jim won that battle when a court said the show could go on. But it ignited a larger war with the San Diego Police vice squad that would last for decades … with Kata and her fellow dancers as collateral damage.

Kathy in the 70s pic_Page_1_Image_0001.jpg (2388x3021, AR: 0.7904667328699106)

In this chapter:

Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater

Bobbi Rogers, former dancer at The Left Bank and Les Girls

Sid Kassouf, former employee at Show Place

James Morgan, original owner of Les Girls Theater, late husband of Kata

John Barriage, lawyer who represented James Morgan and Les Girls in 1980s

Kate Yavenditti, lawyer and co-founder of the County's Task Force on Domestic Violence, and member of WomenOccupySan Diego and the National Lawyers Guild

J.W. August, KPBS freelance journalist

Credits:

Beth Accomando, Producer/Host

Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer

Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer

Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator

Sanns Dixon, Videographer

Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants

David Washburn, Editor

Explicit content.

]]>full00:25:04Wed, 12 Jun 2024 09:00:00 -0700Chapter 2: Let It All Hang Out or How a Texas Baptist Went All-Nude to Shock San DiegoKata Pierce’s life changed when she met James Morgan, a Texas Baptist Republican who challenged censorship and police abuse of power. Both Kata and Jim refused to be silent bystanders and that had consequences. Find out how a raid on Jim’s Left Bank establishment led to him opening Les Girls Theater and staging what was referred to as “The Censorship Play.” In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater Bobbi Rogers, former dancer at Les Girls Theater and performer in “Let in All Hang Out” Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s Sid Kassouf, former employee at Show Place James Morgan, original owner of Les Girls Theater, late husband of Kata Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor Explicit content.54082570-22b3-11ef-94e9-8fd57a05ce00fullyes00:21:27Wed, 05 Jun 2024 09:00:00 -0700Chapter One: Stripper Life, or Can You Handle the Naked Truth?Do you know what stripper energy is? Let three women who worked as dancers at Les Girls Theater in San Diego expose you to the naked truth about what being a dancer was like in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. While dancers today may bristle at the term stripper, Kata Pierce-Morgan embraced it in the 1970s and fought against the stereotypes with what she calls “stripper energy.” In this chapter: Kata Pierce-Morgan, poet, activist, former dancer, current owner of Les Girls Theater Bobbi Rogers, former dancer at Les Girls Theater and performer in “Let in All Hang Out” Pepper, former dancer and cashier at Les Girls Theater in the 1980s Andromeda Breeze Bradley, featured dancer from “No Regrets” Credits: Beth Accomando, Producer/Host Christopher Maue, Videographer/Lighting Designer Kurt Kohnen, Sound Designer Phil Nenna, Designer/Animator Sanns Dixon, Videographer Amy Fan and Gaby Moreno, Assistants David Washburn, Editor Explicit content.8fc91cd0-17fc-11ef-97eb-ed56903577c5fullyes00:26:34Wed, 22 May 2024 09:00:00 -0700TrailerJoin me under the neon glow of the historic Les Girls Theater for “Stripper Energy: Fighting Back from the Fringes.” Former dancer and current owner of Les Girls Theater, Kata Pierce-Morgan, provides unlimited access to a half century of archival material that uncovers a dark chapter of San Diego history from the 1970s and 80s. Kata has been turning chapters from her life and the history of Les Girls into politically charged performance art for San Diego International Fringe Festival. Her consistent theme has been, never be a silent bystander. This year she premieres “No Regrets,” a music and burlesque show set in the late 1960s when vice raided the Left Bank Nightclub, which was the precursor to Les Girls Theater. Prepare for sassy strippers, corrupt cops, and a fierce activism launched from the unlikely stage of a strip club. Explicit content. Links (not sure if you need links but I need them for KPBS web): San Diego International Fringe https://sdfringe.org/ No Regrets https://sdfringe.org/events/golden-corpse-presents-no-regrets/ Les Girls Theater https://www.lesgirlstheater.com/f22718d0-123b-11ef-8053-674c327fbba1fullno00:01:27Tue, 14 May 2024 14:29:00 -0700